To Mann Page Monticello, Aug. 30, 1795

It was not in my power to attend at Fredericksburg according to
the kind invitation in your letter, and in that of mr. Ogilvie. The
heat of the weather, the business of the farm, to which I have made
myself necessary, forbade it; and to give one round reason for all,
mature sanus, I have laid up my Rosinante in his stall, before his
unfitness for the road shall expose him faultering to the world. But
why did not I answer you in time? Because, in truth, I am
encouraging myself to grow lazy, and I was sure you would ascribe the
delay to anything sooner than a want of affection or respect to you,
for this was not among the possible causes. In truth, if anything
could ever induce me to sleep another night out of my own house, it
would have been your friendly invitation and my sollicitude for the
subject of it, the education of our youth. I do most anxiously wish
to see the highest degrees of education given to the higher degrees
of genius, and to all degrees of it, so much as may enable them to
read & understand what is going on in the world, and to keep their
part of it going on right: for nothing can keep it right but their
own vigilant & distrustful superintendence. I do not believe with
the Rochefoucaults & Montaignes, that fourteen out of fifteen men are
rogues: I believe a great abatement from that proportion may be made
in favor of general honesty. But I have always found that rogues
would be uppermost, and I do not know that the proportion is too
strong for the higher orders, and for those who, rising above the
swinish multitude, always contrive to nestle themselves into the
places of power & profit. These rogues set out with stealing the
people's good opinion, and then steal from them the right of
withdrawing it, by contriving laws and associations against the power
of the people themselves. Our part of the country is in considerable
fermentation, on what they suspect to be a recent roguery of this
kind. They say that while all hands were below deck mending sails,
splicing ropes, and every one at his own business, & the captain in
his cabbin attending to his log book & chart, a rogue of a pilot has
run them into an enemy's port. But metaphor apart, there is much
dissatisfaction with mr. Jay & his treaty. For my part, I consider
myself now but as a passenger, leaving the world, & it's government
to those who are likely to live longer in it. That you may be among
the longest of these, is my sincere prayer. After begging you to be
the bearer of my compliments & apologies to mr. Ogilvie, I bid you
an affectionate farewell, always wishing to hear from you.